Vietnam War Reference Resources

Posted on Apr 21, 2020 (last modified Apr 6, 2022)

As part of my research for the book I've been writing (working title: The Cage), I've been collecting a variety of reference resources about the Vietnam War and especially those pertaining to the history of the 1st Battalion / 3rd Marines. I've posted some of what I've found here in case these resources might also be useful to others. This list is by no means exhaustive, but I'll continue to expand it as I find new things. If you would like to suggest something for the list, please contact me.

Books

Note: For your convenience, books are linked for purchase from Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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  Con Thien: The Hill of Angels

  by James P. Coan (2004).

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  The Cross of Gallantry

  A story about Marines in Vietnam who sacrificed, fought and died during combat operations along the DMZ in 1967-68. By Patrick Blake (2017).

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  Dereliction of Duty

  Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff. By H. R. McMaster.

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  The Hill Fights: The First Battle of Khe Sanh

  by Edward F. Murphy (2003).

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  The Morenci Marines: A Tale of Small Town America and the Vietnam War

  by Kyle Longley (2013).

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  On Full Automatic: Surviving 13 Months in Vietnam

  The best-selling memoir of Charlie Co., 1/3 Marine, William (Bill) Taylor.

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  Operation BUFFALO: USMC Fight for the DMZ

  by Keith William Nolan (1991).

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  Payback: Five Marines After Vietnam

  by Joe Klein (1984).

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  Road of 10,000 Pains: The Destruction of the 2nd NVA Division by the U.S. Marines, 1967

  by Otto J. Lehrack (2010).

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  USMC Official Vietnam War Series Publications

  A collection of official publications from the United States Marine Corps on the Vietnam War.

• 

  Where We Were in Vietnam

  A Comprehensive Guide to the Firebases, Military Installations, and Naval Vessels of the Vietnam War, 1945 - 1975. By Michael P. Kelley (2002).

Videos

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  US Marines in Vietnam, 15-Part Documentary on Tubi

  1965: The American ground war in South East Asia, to protect US air bases in South Vietnam, leads to what will become the longest war for U.S. Marines.

Websites and Articles

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  Agent Orange, History Channel

  Read all about the the U.S military's aggressive program of chemical warfare codenamed Operation Ranch Hand.

• 

  Coffelt Database of Vietnam Casualties, The

  A central source of information regarding the servicemen and women who died as a result of service in Vietnam.

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  dlagrza.com - 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines (Vietnam 21Dec66 to 11Dec67)

  Historical info and photos from the personal website of Oscar De La Garza, Jr. USMC (deceased, Oct 17, 2010, pancreatic cancer).

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  Fire Support Base Locations

  A listing of Fire Support Base names, locations, and the units who used those locations.

• 

  List of Viet Nam Books

  A searchable database of about 400 books on the Vietnam War published on the 326marinesinvietnam.com website.

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  M16 in Vietnam, The

  Just the Facts! By Christopher R. Bartocci, 2006.

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  onethreemarines.com

  1st Battalion / 3rd Marines Gathering Space providing a variety of resources (history, photos, company rosters, etc.)

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  Pentagon Papers

  Available from the National Archives and officially titled "Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force," this is the complete report commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1967 - a comprehensive and formerly top-secret study of the history of United States involvement in Vietnam from World War II to the present.

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  Records of War - 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines

  A list of declassified records pertaining to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines (primary source of the listed documents is the Texas Tech University Virtual Vietnam Archive).

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  Records of War - HMM 263

  A list of declassified records pertaining to HMM 263 (primary source of the listed documents is the Texas Tech University Virtual Vietnam Archive).

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  Records of War - Task Group Reports

  A list of declassified records pertaining to various Task Groups including 79.4 Special Landing Force "ALFA." (primary source of the listed documents is the Texas Tech University Virtual Vietnam Archive).

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  Vietnam War Resources at the Briscoe Center

  Published by the University of Texas at Austin, this archive contains News Media History, Photojournalism, Congressional and Political Collections, and Oral Histories.

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  Virtual Vietnam Archive, The - Vietnam Center and Archive

  Published by Texas Tech University, this archive contains 7 million pages of documents, photographs, slides, negatives, oral histories, artifacts, moving images, sound recordings, and maps.